sort...assort...organize..categorize...

as i drove away from san antonio, texas....after a wonderful visit with one adorable family...i had to...just HAD to make one very important stop before returning to my oklahoma city home.

and because i hadn't spent nearly enough at those amazing outlet stores...it was time to embrace this world of home furnishings, KITCHENS, and (gasp) organizational tools galore!!

because, my friends, this week. this beautiful, wonderful, week....was made for me. well now, that sounds selfish. but this week i did not need to study (okay fine..i did have 2 exams and a paper due for grad school, but whatever)...and i could embrace two of my most favorite past times....which i have maaaajorly neglected.

1. organizing! rubbermaid tubs, paperclips, and file folders. oh how i love thee.

2. reading. mmmm....*sigh* you make everything beautiful. if only my thoughts and experiences could be so beautifully and imaginatively reflected onto paper. (good thing i bought 5 new books at said outlets)

so this week, i have pulled out my years worth of notes and binders. sat down in the middle of my apartment...and sorted the hell out of my life.

not only is this pleasurable because i now have neatly stacked papers bound with paperclips and rubberbands...in file folders and stackable file boxes...but also...because going through the contents of these binders and notebooks were like a beautiful scrapbook. a tribute to years of hardwork. late nights. and possibly tears. a time when i was growing and maturing and living up college life. those memories, the ones of friends and laughter, i have kept in my head...and even in some photographs. but these memories, these are more for me and only me. i love the notes in the margins. the frustrated comments like "umm...WHAT dr. wang? i am soo lost" and i swear i can smell the fragrance of coffee, red bull, and cadavers on my human body notebook. my most cherished notebook :) i have notes from brooke saying "i had to run back to the house. do you need anything? let me know. i love you!" and old dove dark chocolate wrappers...which was our favorite game. "who needs a chocolate break? you know the rules...you must change the message to something that has to do with human body!" and then we giggle over messages about getting your smooth endoplasmic reticulum massaged. nerd alert? yeah..we don't care.

perhaps i'm just experiencing the honeymoon of passing my RD exam. and perhaps it's the sentimental girl inside me that loves to talk about old stories whenever given the opportunity...but this week, in particular, i am JOYFUL...and i am THANKFUL. my God, what a journey you have taken me on....i can't wait to see where you'll take me next.